Illinois State Constitution vs the United States Constitution - Essay Example

Compare and Contrast Illinois Constitution and the United s Constitution The Illinois constitution represents the governing document of the state of Illinois in the United States of America. There have been four constitutions since the time the Union was admitted into the union in 1818. The succeeding constitutions were endorsed in 1848, 1870 and 1970. The fourth is the current version that is in use and was ratified in 1970. It was ratified by special election on December 15, 1970 and came into effect on the 1st of July 19711. The United States Constitution represents the supreme law of the United States of America. It provides a framework for the structure and organization of the United States government and the relationship of the federal government and the states, citizens and any other group of people within the United States of America. It was embraced on September 17, 1781 following the Constitutional convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and endorsed by the conventions established in each of the US state for the good of the people. The US constitution is the oldest written constitution that is still in use in any nation of the world. It has been amended twenty-seven times2. Basically the Illinois State government is modeled after the federal government and the constitution of the United States. At that time it was important that each state adopts its own constitution so that it could be admitted into the union3. Illinois just like any other state therefore had to come up with a constitution that would define its structure, organization and the relationship with the federal government and the people of Illinois as well as the entire nation4. The constitution of the state of Illinois begins with a preamble that explains why the people came together to come up with a constitution. It states that they came up with this document in order to provide health, safety and welfare of the people; have an orderly government, do away with poverty and inequality, ensure justice, peace and secure liberty freedoms and posterity5. The United states constitution on the other hand is also similar to the Illinois constitution such that it has also a preamble that talks of the people of the entire nation and why they came together to establish the constitution. It says that it is because they wanted to form a perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide defense, welfare and secure the blessings of Liberty and prosperity6. The United States constitution is divided into seven articles each with different sections and clauses that address various aspects of the federal government and the relationship with people and the states. The first article concerns the structure of the federal government while the last article concerns the signing of the document by the various signatories7. The Illinois state constitution on the other hand fourteen articles each with various articles and clauses that address various aspects of the state and the relationship with the federal government. The first article is the bill of rights that outlines the various rights and freedom enjoyed by the people of Illinois8. The last article talks of constitutional revision and outlines the various issues to be considered in amending the constitution. Though the last part of the constitution provides for the transition period from one constitution to another and the various issues that need to remain to enable a smooth transition9. The Illinois state constitution bill of rights begins with the first section that outlines the inherent and inalienable rights of any individual. The rights it points out are the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It then explains the various rights and freedoms enjoyed by all citizens within the state. It has a total of twenty four rights and freedom that people enjoy within the state and each of these is explained in different sections. The rights and freedoms include the following: the right to due process and equal protection; freedom of religion; freedom of speech; the right to assemble and petition; the right to be secure from searches, seizures, privacy and interceptions; rights to hearing; rights after indictment; rights of crime victims; right to bail and habeas corpus; self-incrimination and double jeopardy; limitation of penalties after conviction, right to remedy and justice; right to trial by jury; imprisonment for debt, right of eminent domain; ex post facto laws and impairing contracts; right to no discrimination in employment, on the basis of sex, against the handicapped; right to individual dignity; quartering of soldiers; right to arms; fundamental principles and finishes by looking at the rights that are retained10. In the US constitution on the other hand, the bill of rights is not found as part of the text in the constitution rather it is found among the ten amendments made on article five of the US constitution. The ten amendments are referred to as the bill of rights but the first nine are the ones that pertain to the people, amendments ten pertain to the states and mentions people in parallel11. The bill of rights in the US constitution was primarily designed to be a bar on the actions of the federal government. They were not included in the original document because most of the states as we have seen in the case of Illinois had incorporated their Bill of Rights in their constitution and the rights and freedoms protected the citizens of that state12. In the Illinois state constitution the legislative power is vested in the General Assembly that consists of a senate and a house of representatives who are elected by electors from the 59 legislative districts and 118 Representative Districts. It contains various other sections that explain composition, legislative districts, elections, sessions, organization, the transactions of house business, passage of bills, veto procedures, effective date of laws, compensation and allowances, legislative immunity, special legislation, impeachment and adjournment13. The US constitution on the other hand has vested the powers of the legislature in the Congress of the United States and which consists of a Senate and the House representatives14. The two constitutions basically have the same structure as both have a senate and a house of representatives. Though there variations in the composition of the houses, organization and in the transaction of business most of the issues talked here are basically the same with the similar rules and guidelines. For example the Illinois constitution only one senator is elected from each legislative district. A look at the US constitution, it requires that two senators be chosen from each state by the legislature15. The Illinois state constitution identifies the executive as comprising of the governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the attorney general, secretary of state, comptroller and the treasurer and these are elected by the electors of the state. They hold office for four years after a general election. These people must be US citizens and a resident in the state for the three years preceding the election. The Governor is the supreme executive power responsible for the execution of the laws. The governor has the power to appoint and remove various people from office under this constitution. The other members have various responsibilities as a result of their positions or those delegated to them by the Governor16. The United States constitution vests the executive power in the President of the United States of America17. The president is elected by the electorate to serve a term of four years together with the vice president. The person must be a natural born US citizen in order to qualify to be elected as president. The president is the commander in chief of the US army and the Navy and other militia found in several states. He/she has the power to form treaties with the consent and advice of the senate, fill up vacant positions occurring during Recess of the senate and appoint other holders of public offices such as Ambassadors, public ministers and consuls and judges of the Supreme Court among others18. The two executive arms operate basically in the same manner. The Governor and the President being the supreme holders of executive power, making appointments, delegate duties and oversee other functions of the nation. The tenure is essentially the same with four years for each person. The Illinois state constitution vests the judicial power in a Supreme Court and Appellate court and Circuit courts19. The Supreme Court is made up of seven judges selected from the judicial districts. The court is mandated to exercise original jurisdiction in very limited cases including revenue, appeals from the circuit and Appellate courts. The tenure of the judges of the Supreme Court is set at ten years. The other courts are mandated to carry out original jurisdiction in most matters concerning the people. The appellate court listens to appeals from the circuit courts20. In the United States Constitution the judicial power is vested in one Supreme Court21. The court has original jurisdiction in cases involving ambassadors, public ministers and consuls and others in which a state shall be party. The court has appellate jurisdiction in other cases involving conflicts in the nation and between individual citizens22. In the two constitutions there exist a small difference in their working but the entire operations are the same. The Supreme Court listens to both original cases and appeals, matters to do with the constitutionality of legislations etc. the difference between the two judicial arms is that the US constitution only recognizes the existence of one Supreme court and but the congress can set up other courts23. On the other hand the Illinois state constitution recognizes the existence of three categories of courts, the Supreme Court, the Appellate court and the circuit courts24. The Illinois state constitution recognizes the need for each citizen to vote for their leaders when an individual is of the age of 18. The person must be a US citizen. To qualify to vote in this state an individual must have been a permanent resident for at least 30 days before the election date. It also states that people convicted of felonies or in jails lose the right to vote. The general elections are scheduled to be held after every two years25. In the United States constitution, the seventeenth amendment established the direct election of the united state senators by popular vote. Initially it required that the state legislatures elect two senators to the senate who served for six years. The US constitution states that elections be held after every four years to elect the president. The house representatives are elected after every two years while the presidential elections are done after every four years26. The two constitutional provisions for elections resemble one another because the mechanisms of operation are basically the same. References Illinois Government. The Constitution of the State of Illinois. December 15, 1970. http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/conmain.htm (accessed November 18, 2011). U.S Code. The United States Constitution. September 20, 2004. http://www.house.gov/house/Constitution/Constitution.html (accessed November 18, 2011). 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